Oklahoma State Oklahoma St/Oklahoma Oklahoma Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Maurice Baker scored a career-high 31 points for Oklahoma State, but No. 17 Oklahoma offset that with scoring balance and strong interior defense in a 68-56 victory Saturday night.

Hollis Price scored 16 points, including a big shot clock-beating 3-pointer with 1:23 to play, as the Sooners (23-6, 12-4 Big 12) assured that they will be at least the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament next week.

Nolan Johnson also scored 16 points for the Sooners, who never trailed after an early 13-2 run gave them a 10-point lead. Aaron McGhee had 11 points and Kelley Newton added nine.

"When this team was 1-3 (in conference play), I think that we buckled down and really became a much more focused team. We learned how to play the way we play," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "I don't think anybody would have ever thought that at 1-3, that we would wind up 11-1."

Oklahoma State (19-8, 10-6) had beaten the Sooners by 28 points in Stillwater on Feb. 14, when Victor Williams scored a career-high 26. This time, Williams had only three.

Forward Fredrik Jonzen, the Cowboys' second-leading scorer at 15 points per game, was 1-of-6 from the field and finished with four points. No Cowboy other than Baker scored in double figures, and Baker also led the team with nine rebounds.

"I think they were just playing very physical," Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said. "Any time Fredrik got the ball, they did a good job of dropping back in his lap.

"He just wasn't getting any good looks. Their defense was very good."

Oklahoma State, which had won four in a row, will be the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. The Cowboys shot just 41 percent and committed 23 turnovers.

Despite getting little production from anyone but Baker, Oklahoma State only trailed 58-54 with just over three minutes remaining after two free throws and a driving basket by Baker.

But Price made two of three free throws at the 2:08 mark, then made the most of a broken play by hitting a 25-foot shot as the 35-second clock expired, pushing the lead to 63-54 with 1:23 to go.

"Coach Sampson always says to be a great point guard, you've got to keep an eye on the shot clock at all times," Price said. "That's what I did – kept my eye on the shot clock and let the ball go."

Oklahoma made four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes, including two by Newton, in a 13-2 run that gave the Sooners their 20-10 lead.

Baker scored all of Oklahoma State's points in a 9-2 run that got the Cowboys within 22-19. The margin was seven at halftime and the Sooners opened a 13-point lead early in the second half.

A 10-3 run in which Baker scored five points pulled the Cowboys within 46-40, but Oklahoma was able to maintain that cushion until the late going when Oklahoma State got within four.

"Every time they made a run, our big players made big shots," Price said.

Sutton said he felt his team was putting pressure on the Sooners until Williams hacked Price on a 3-point try.

"I thought that took us out of maybe any opportunity to win," he said.

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AUDIO/VIDEO
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Oklahoma's Hollis Price gets the nice pass to Aaron Mcghee for the monster jam.
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Oklahoma's Jameel Haywood moves into the lane and nails the fall-away jumper.
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Oklahoma State's Victor Williams gets the steal and pushes it ahead to Maurice Baker for the hoop.
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